Koning Willem I brengt een meisje thuis - Jean Baptiste Ambroise Marcellin Jobard

A 1829 lithograph by Jean Baptiste Ambroise Marcellin Jobard depicting King William I of the Netherlands returning a young girl to her home.

This lithograph by Jean Baptiste Ambroise Marcellin Jobard, dated 1829, captures a narrative moment involving King William I of the Netherlands. The scene depicts the monarch returning a young girl to her home, an act intended to project a benevolent and accessible image of the sovereign. The composition is structured around the doorway of a modest dwelling, where a woman waits to receive the child. The King, dressed in a formal frock coat and top hat, gestures towards the girl, who stands between him and the woman.

Jobard, a figure known for his technical contributions to lithography and photography, employs a precise, clean line quality characteristic of early nineteenth-century printmaking. The background features a suggestion of a townscape with a church spire, providing a sense of place while maintaining focus on the interaction between the three figures. The text below the image, '2me RENCONTRE' and the French inscription, provides context for the encounter, suggesting a series of anecdotal prints documenting the King's public interactions. The work reflects the period's interest in royal iconography and the construction of public persona through visual media. The monochromatic palette and soft shading are typical of the lithographic techniques refined during this era, allowing for subtle gradations of tone that define the figures against the architectural backdrop. This print offers a glimpse into the intersection of political image-making and popular print culture in the early nineteenth century.